


Life comes with many surprises

by JackNotFromTitanic



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bullied Keith (Voltron), Burns, Foster Kid Keith (Voltron), Hurt Keith (Voltron), Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Keith (Voltron) Has Issues, Keith (Voltron)-centric, Keith loves his hippo plush, Keith's Father (Voltron) Dies, Orphan Keith (Voltron), Other, Protective Shiro (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:22:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22075417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackNotFromTitanic/pseuds/JackNotFromTitanic
Summary: Keith lives happily with his dad. One day his dad comes late so Keith wants to surprise him at his workplace but in the end it is Keith who get's surprised... And this surprise is just the beginning.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 54





	1. The best dad

He was happy. It wasn't the perfect place to be in when the sun shone right at the old shack they're living in, but the time he spent there was perfect. His perfect life.

Most of the time he would rush home right after school to avoid the other kids who were annoying mostly. 

"Naaw~ wanna go home to mommy now? Oh right you can't because you don't have one! Hahaha" 

"Don't need one unlike you, my dad is the best and way more better than all of your parents together." Keith talked back to the small group who was trying to bully him again. After that he just went home knowing that his dad would wait there for him. He remembered earlier in the morning when his father overslept and woke him up.

"OH HOLY- KEITH!! You have to wake up!" he shouted right after looking at the clock when he woke up. And Keith? He thought he was going to die because of a fucking heart attack. 

He jumped out of the bed and looked around, breathing heavily until he understood what just happened. "Dad you nearly killed me there!" 

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you jump like these cats who saw a cucumber." That made Keith giggle a bit. "But seriously now, we have to go." 

And with that Keith got his clothes on, brushed trough his teeth and was ready to leave. Keith got on the bike behind his dad. "Okay kiddo, you ready?" Keith's stomach gave an answer loud an clear. "I promise I'll make up for it! When you come home from school I'll have made pancakes and sandwiches for you already!"

With that in mind Keith rushed home with a big grin on his face. "Dad I'm home!" He said happily after getting inside. 

"Oh Keith! Faster than expected, I'm still in the middle of frying." Keith came inside the kitchen to see his dad standing there with the frying pan and his apron which Keith decorated on mothers-day in school. 

Keith loved this. He loved to see this funny looking apron on his dad, he loved to see the smile his dad gave him, he loved to listen to some adventures from his dad's work, while eating the yummy pancakes, he loved his dad more than anything else. 

"Keith, tomorrow I could be a bit late again, so just eat without me okay?" His dad said while washing his plate. 

"Okay.." the young boy answered. 

And soon the sun started to set down and it was time for Keith to sleep. He laid down in bed comfortably with his hippo plush in his hand and closed his eyes thinking of this happily fulfilled day with his dad and pancakes and fell asleep easily.

The next morning he woke up from a hand gently shaking his shoulder. "Keith kiddo wake up or you'll be late for school, I also have to go now so make sure you eat before you leave, okay?" 

"Yeah.." Keith answered still sleepy while sitting up and tried to open his eyes more when his father fondled his hair before leaving for work. After Keith got back from school his dad wasn't home, like expected but Keith still wanted to wait for him so they could chat while eating together like yesterday. After three hours of waiting he decided that he wanted to surprise his dad at his workplace with food. That thought made, he made some sandwiches put them into a small paper bag and went outside. 

After some time of walking he reached the city and saw some dark smoke behind a few buildings. Instead of going the direction of his dad's work office his instinct told him to hurry up and head to the direction where the dark and thick looking smoke is in. So he started to walk faster and faster until at some point he ran. After turning at one big building he saw it. The smoke stung in his throat while the fire was swallowing nearly the whole house.


	2. engulfed in flames

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the burning house Keith gets a surprise which he will never forget.

The smoke stung in his throat. The fire seemed to grow bigger even though the firefighters were already doing their best, people were shouting and one shout got Keith's attention.

"We can't let anymore of us in, the fire's spread out too much!" Keith looked at the man. His dad never told him stories about a time when they didn't risk everything to save lives. Right.. his dad.. he wanted to surprise him with the sandwiches but somehow Keith couldn't just leave this place. He had to see how it would end. 

After being looked at for a while the one firefighter noticed the small dark haired child. "Hey you should stand back a bit, this is dangerous the fire's growing!" 

Keith wanted to say something but the firefighter looked mind-blown when he gasped out "H..His son? Are you Kei-" a shout broke through. 

"WE FOUND HER!" another man ran to the one who talked to Keith. "She was able to jump on the tree from her window and Kogane is still inside searching for her!" He seemed out of breath. 

"What?! This reckless- GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE KOGANE! WE FOUND HER!" 

The loud scream of the firefighter made Keith's blood run cold. _Wha..What did they just say..? There's no way his dad is inside there.. But if he is.. he has to get out of there!_

The paper-bag fell out of his hand. "Dad.. DAD! DAD PLEASE GET OUT OF THERE! Please.." He turned his head to the firefighter "Y-You have to get him out! You have to save him!" 

The firefighter looked pale. "We can't rescue him anymore!" 

_No no no, he can't say that, it can't be!_ "The fire's spread out too much!" He said with a pained expression. 

_No they're lying this can't happen, not to him!_

"There's nothing we can do.." 

_If they won't do it he will!_

Keith ran to the building and felt hotter as he got closer but he was being held back before he could get too close to the entrance. 

"NO! DAD IS STILL INSIDE! I HAVE TO GET HIM OUT! **LET ME GO!!** " Keith couldn't even hear the voices around him anymore when he thrashed around, but he wouldn't stop resisting as long as his dad is still in there and maybe rescuable. But all of sudden he stopped moving and his eyes went wide. 

The house was starting to fall apart, the flames now swallowing every little bit of it. 

The flames took him away. 

_They swallowed his dad and would never give him back again._


	3. Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the fire gone all there is left is darkness. Keith gets back home and faces the reality. He's alone.

The flames took him away

_They swallowed his dad and would never give him back again_

Tears started to burst out. Keith screamed and cried what got everyone to realize that what just happened was real. The firefighter was still holding Keith until the fire was finally extinguished. 

Keith went limb just looking at the house which wasn't burning brightly anymore but dark, wet and still smoking. However it wasn't the only thing that lost it's brightness. The sun was down already, the only light was now from the firetrucks. The firefighter let him go, but Keith didn't react. He just kept watching at the building until someone had to take him away from it. 

Someone tried to talk to Keith. "Hey, are you okay?" 

Keith tried to look through him. He felt like he couldn't let a simple noise out, even breathing felt hard. 

"Is there someone who we can call to pick you up?" Keith felt cold. Alone. There's no one to call anymore. There is no one left at all. It was then when he noticed, that even the hand which was on his shoulder the whole time before was gone. He looked around and found the man standing only a few meters away talking to the police. 

After a few minutes the firefighter went to Keith. The other person had given up to talk to Keith at that point and went away. 

"Hey there.. I'm really sorry for what happened.. I'm sorry. I don't want to make it harder for you, so I told the police that they should talk to you another time.." He looked into Keith's eyes. "Should I take you with my car? I heard from Kogane that it takes a while to reach your home.." He stated, looking as if he didn't know how to face the young boy in front of him. 

Keith didn't answer but just went one step closer to the man as a sign that he should just lead the way. The man started walking and nearly stepped on the paper-bag. 

"That.. That's yours isn't it?" he picked it up and left it next to Keith when they got in the car. "I will drive trough the city, just tell me when you need to get out". That said he started the engine when Keith started to look outside the window. 

The road was dark and empty but as closer as they got to the city they passed more people, illuminated buildings and more cars on their way, it got more lively and full and bright and all of sudden Keith felt constricted. He had to get out now or it would only get worse since they were just about to drive into the city. 

"P..Please let me out h..here" His voice was barely a whisper and his throat hurt. Nevertheless did the man hear him and slowed down to drop Keith out. "There you go.. I hope you'll get better soon.. Don't forget that paper-bag" 

Keith took the bag, opened the door and went out and a quiet thank you left his mouth before he closed the door and walked away.

He walked slowly still having the picture of the burning building in his mind. His dad was inside there and no one would help him. Even though his dad would try to rescue anyone without even thinking about it. He would do his best to help people. But they didn't help him in the end. They didn't even try to. They let him burn. 

Keith felt how tears started to built up when he slowly got closer to the desert. It was quiet and cold. No sign of anyone. So he let the tears fall. 

The dark haired boy kept on walking, the only sound to hear were his footsteps, the wind and him quietly sobbing. At some point he heard his stomach growling and looked at the paper bad in his hands. 

He made them especially for his dad. They would have eaten them together, laughed together. They would have tasted great together. 

Compared to his imagination it tasted like sand when he bit into one. He only managed that one bite before putting it back again. 

It was dark when he finally reached the old shack, he nearly couldn't see anything. Nevertheless he didn't turn the light on when he entered. It smelled like home but it didn't feel warming anymore. It felt cold, dark, empty... alone. 

He walked to his room but felt uneasy, still thinking about what he witnessed until he stood up and went to his fathers room. There he lay down and breathed in the smell of his dad when tears started to fall again. Eventually he cried himself into sleep.


	4. The way to a new home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith is barely leaving bed until he hears someone knocking at the door. Someone who wants him to move to a new home.

_**You are alone**_

"DAD!" 

He woke up sweaty, his heart beating far too quickly and panting. Soon tears filled his eyes as he looked around. He saw his hippo next to him and took it in his hand. He got up and walked out of the room. "Dad?" His voice was hoarse. "Dad..please" he looked around but his dad was nowhere to be seen. 

He looked into the kitchen. 

_**You saw what happened, you know he's never coming back**_

_That wasn't real_

He looked in the bathroom. 

_**You saw it burn**_

_That was just a nightmare_

His dad wasn't there. He was nowhere to he found. 

His dad won't come back anymore. They won't eat together anymore, won't have fun together anymore. Keith will never get to see his dad wearing the apron anymore. He will never see his dad smile at him again. 

He will never see his dad again. 

Tears burst out. Keith cried and screamed, throwing stuff around until he got exhausted. 

He didn't leave the shack for two days. 

Two days which felt like hell. He ate the sandwiches from the paper-bag but only managed small bites. He was sleepy and exhausted but he didn't sleep well because nightmares and flashbacks would haunt him. When that happened he would just lay on his dad's bed and cry, smelling the relaxing scent on his pillow until he would fall asleep. 

On the third day a knock on the door woke him up. First he didn't want to leave the bed, thinking whoever that is would simply go away after some time, but that wasn't the case. It knocked again and again and again until he stood up and went to the door. 

"Hello? Is anybody home?" It sounded like a woman but he didn't know the voice. 

Slowly the young boy opened the door. It was so bright outside what made the dark bags under his eyes burn. _They burned_

He quickly rubbed his eyes, trying to avoid another painful memory when the woman spoke again. 

"You must be.. Keith, right? I'm a social worker and here to help you." Keith just stared at her quietly. "You didn't go to school the last two days and you don't have anyone watching out for you here.. That's why I'm here" 

Keith felt his lungs tighten. She sounded like those boys who tried to bully him, but she spoke the truth. Keith felt like he couldn't breathe. He just stood there staring into nothing. 

The social worker kept on talking. "You don't have to be afraid, I'll take you with me to a nice place with many kids. We will watch out for you until you find someone else who wants to be your family. It's really fun there and-" 

Keith's world shattered in pieces. They would take it away like they did with his dad. He was about to lose the place he called home. The place which still has the smell of his dad inside, which has so many memories inside. They can't take it away. 

"no.. no no NO NO NO!!" He shook his head and closed his eyes tightly. The social worker tried to calm him down, slowly moving her hand to Keith's shoulder but touching him in this state wasn't the best idea. He flinched at her touch and his eyes opened widely. 

"Let me go! I will not leave from here! This is everything I have left!" He shouted while refusing the touch. 

"Calm down.. You got me a bit wrong. We're not going to take away anything. This house belongs to you. You're not losing it." She said, holding her arms up a little in order to seem harmless. 

Keith slowly calmed down, now feeling the wetness on his cheeks. 

After waiting for a short time, the woman in front of Keith spoke again. "But as long as you're not old enough we want to look out for you." She held out her hand. "Would you come with me?" The raven haired boy looked at her. She really just seemed to want to help.. slowly he shook her hand, what made her smile at him. 

"You'll get some time to get your most precious things and then we'll get you to a nice place." She looked around a bit until she looked at him again. He looked exhausted, his eyes fixated on the ground. 

"Nothing will get removed, right?" He asked. 

"Nothing will get removed. It'll wait here" 

He couldn't really believe that they wouldn't remove things from the shack so he put his most precious things in his bag. His hippo, some clothes and most importantly a picture of his dad smiling brightly while tousling Keith's hair. After Keith packed his most important things in a bag they went into the car of the social worker and drove away from the shack. 

After staring at the social worker for some time he watched out of the window. Nothing seemed recognizable and his thoughts wandered off. It all didn't feel real. He didn't want it to be real. He closed his eyes and hoped that time would just turn back.


	5. The first day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Keith and his social worker get out of the car, his first day in the new home starts.  
> It all feels like a dream.  
> He can't wait for this dream to be over.

"Keith?"

"Keith, wake up we arrived"

Keith woke up by a touch on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and saw the big building behind the social worker. The sun shone brightly, kids were playing and running around the building and it all looked so peaceful. Like a movie... Like a dream.

If this was really a dream then Keith had to endure just a bit more until he would finally wake up. With that thought he got out of the car and walked to the entrance with the social worker.

"Once we go inside you can put your stuff in your new room and introduce yourself to your new roommate. It can get pretty funny here believe me" 

She smiled at him and even though it was all so bright and peaceful, it didn't reach to Keith. In fact he became nervous by the thought of a roommate who would be a complete stranger. What if they wouldn't like each other? He never really had friends because he isn't really talkative, but he would always say what needed to be said. That's why the other kids in school started to offend him. They said he was different. His dad always told him that being different isn't a bad thing and Keith should be proud to say what he needs to. His dad would always support him or cheer him up whenever Keith was sad because of the others. But now it would be different. His dad isn't here anymore. His sanctuary isn't here anymore. It's all differen-

Suddenly someone rammed against his shoulder harshly, making him stumble and fall. 

He heard how the social worker lectured the child who ran against him. "You should watch out where you're running!"

"Sorry, I couldn't dodge when I saw him." 

He turned to Keith and bowed down a bit while grinning. He had blonde hair and slight freckles and Keith wasn't sure if this grin the boy had was a nice or faked one. 

"Hey, you seem to be new! I'm sorry to make you fall on your first day here"  
He reached out his hand for Keith to help him get up. 

"It's fine.." 

He got up himself before following the social worker who was waiting for him inside the building.

The inside was quite spacey, there were many different rooms and a wooden stair which they went up. The staircase was creaking especially when some children ran down from it.  


"Hey! How many times did I tell you not to run down the stairs?!" 

Keith got quite surprised, he didn't think that the social worker had a strict side too. She seemed to notice his observing expression and slightly smiled at him. 

"Sorry, but as you see it can get quite lively here sometimes.. But that's a proof more for the fact that it will never get boring here!" Keith just kept on following his social worker quietly looking around. 

"So.. This is going to be your new room. Make yourself at home" 

"Thanks.."

She went out the door but turned to Keith again

"Ah, I nearly forgot, dinner is everyday at 6 pm, breakfast at 9 am and lunch at 12:30 pm so keep that in mind. Please try to not come late for dinner, we are very strict at that. Also, no showering after 9 pm, this is the time were you all should head to bed. That was it for the beginning, see you at dinner!"

With that she went away and Keith stood alone in his new room. It was so much different from his home. It was quite empty, with two beds inside a door to a small bathroom and a wooden drawer under the window. When he looked outside the old window he could see the entrance of the building and kids still playing there.

All of sudden he heard the creaking of the wooden floor and turned around just to see the blonde boy who ran into him earlier. 

"Oh.. So it's really you who will become my new roommate! I hope we'll get along with each other!"  
"Y..Yeah"  
"Must feel weird being new huh? I felt weird at the beginning too, but you'll get used to it eventually. Anyway, what's your name?"

He came closer to Keith and smiled at him.

"Keith"

"Keith? That's a cool name! I'm Toby, nice to meet you!"

Toby held his hand out to greet him and Keith shook it with a little hesitation and smiled a bit. Is this how you make friends? He wasn't sure if he should trust the boy in front of him because of the first impression he had, but he would try to get to know him better.

"How about I show you around a bit before dinner?"

Whenever Toby smiled at him it looked pretty weird for Keith. Somehow he had the feeling that his eyes didn't smile at all so he couldn't help but be cautious. It nearly felt like he was a pray who's being lured into a trap slowly. 

"Sure.. that would be nice"

He put his bag off and followed Toby outside the room.

_Just get this over with and wake up from this dream_


	6. Dinnertime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After looking around the place, Keith experiences his first dinner.

"So, let's go!"

Toby lead the way after grinning at Keith. 

"This is the hall, you walked in here before.. but if we go further we will find: The playroom."

It was lively in there, kids where playing with toys, drawing and doing all kind of things that seemed fun.

"You can use anything you find here to have fun, but it's not allowed to take it out of the room" 

He pointed at the corner of the room

"If you like painting there's the place to paint with water colors so it's always messy there. I advice you to not go there with your best clothing"

Keith nodded and looked at the children who were painting before Toby started to walk away. Keith followed him to the next place, the kitchen. It didn't look as old as the other rooms and had many tables and chairs in it to have a seat while eating. 

"Since it's not time for dinner yet, no one is inside here. But believe me, it is super lively when there's food."

Keith smiled a bit at that. The imagination of all the children being like wild animals to get food hit his mind. Maybe it would be funny here.

He was wrong.

He was so wrong.

Hungry children could be worse than wild animals, which was clearly not funny.

It was so different from what he was used to. Whenever he ate dinner with his dad it sure could get lively as well, because of the interesting stories they told each other. But this wasn't comparable at all.

There were so many people in the room, and it was so loud. His social worker was checking if everyone was there and sitting at a table before allowing everyone to get their dinner. And that was how the disaster started. Keith couldn't believe that this much people could fit in this room, even if it wasn't a small room. The fact that they were all literally crowding over each other to get food was just making it worse. Keith felt his chest tighten. Even though he didn't really eat something the last few days he didn't feel hungry at all. It was the opposite. He started to feel nauseous when Toby got back with two plates and put one in front of him.

"I got us food, let's eat quickly so we can get dessert."

Keith looked at the plate in front of him while Toby started to eat. After some time though he stopped eating, staring at Keith.

"What's wrong? You don't eat meat or something?"

"No I'm just... not really hungry"

"Man you really look pale, are you fine? You know, you could tell the social worker that you don't feel so good so you don't have to wait here until dinner is over. Otherwise you would have to see how I eat this yummy meat" The blond haired boy said, taking a bite of his food afterwards. 

"Y..Yeah I'm gonna do that"

"Means I can eat your meat as well! Nice!" 

Keith stood up and went to his social worker who was eating as well with some colleagues. After she noticed Keith, she excused herself and turned to him.

"Keith, is everything alright?"

"I err.. I wondered if I could go to my room already? I'm not really hungry" He said while fidgeting with his sleeves a bit.

"Well usually if you're not hungry you should still wait here until dinnertime is over. It's important to spend some time with the other kids. The only excuse would be if you're sick."

A colleague of her, a brown haired man, looked at Keith.

"Well he does look a bit pale, maybe he doesn't feel so good, do you?" 

He looked at Keith, clearly worried even though he didn't know him. Keith looked down, still fidgeting with the end of his sleeves.

"I.. don't"

The man looked at Keith's social worker. "Well then you might as well let him go to rest a bit." He turned to Keith again. "In case it gets worse the nursery room is still open, you could go there." The man said.

"..Okay, thanks"

He went out and was relieved when it finally was quiet and empty. He went to his room and sat on the bed he assumed was his because it didn't look messy like the other bed. He saw his backpack lying on the ground and took his hippo out from it. It still smelled like home. He hugged it tightly after covering himself under his blanket. He still could hear some quiet noises probably coming from the loud kitchen. Being alone in the room he could finally calm himself a bit. He looked at his hippo and remembered how he got it.

One afternoon Keith was watching a documentary about hippos in their natural habitat. While watching that, his dad came home from work.

"Hey there, I'm home now. Huh? What are you watching?"

His father stepped inside the living room and looked at the TV.

"Look that's a baby hippo, isn't it cute? I love hippos. I want to have a hippo too, but they need water and about 88 pounds food per day"

"Wow that's much.. well how about you? You hungry?"

Keith nodded at his dad happily.

"Alright, let me make something" 

And with that his dad went to the kitchen after tousling Keith's hair.

Some months later at Keith's 7th birthday his dad got him that hippo plush. And Keith never was this happy. 

"You like it?" His dad asked, knowing the answer.

"I love it!!!" Keith smiled widely.

"Yeah? How're you gonna name it?"

"I'm gonna name him Mr. Hippo!"

Since that day he would always sleep with it or let it sit next to him when he watched something about hippos. 

Back in reality Keith clearly missed those times. The time he had with his dad. He missed watching stuff with his dad or helping him cook, eating together with him. He missed it to just know that he's there whenever something happens.

Now all what's left is Mr. Hippo.

He just wanted to go home. 

He just wanted his dad back.

That in thought he fell asleep.


	7. Nightmares keep on haunting you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Keith wakes up he's back home. So he was really just dreaming before, wasn't he?

Keith slowly opened his eyes. He was in his room at home.. He was home again! He looked around and stood up as he heard a sound coming from the kitchen. Immediately he rushed to the sound-source and found his dad standing in front of the stove preparing food, his back facing Keith.

He was there.

He was alive! 

Keith felt tears building up as he stepped closer and reached out his hands. Without intending he whined out what made his dad turning to him. He looked at Keith and smiled at him, like he would always do when Keith came to him after a nightmare. So it was all a dream! He knew it, something like that wouldn't happen to his dad! His dad was fine. He was alive. He was right here!

Keith hugged his dad tightly, wetting his apron with his tears. He looked up to see his face but when he did he was in shock. His dad stared at him while his skin slowly became red spots until they got harsher and bigger. A fire was spreading, the food was all black and crusty and his dad -

His dad was suddenly farther away, not hugging Keith anymore. He stood in the middle of the fire, not doing anything just facing his back to Keith.

"Dad get out! Please! Don't do that! Dad!"

He wanted to move, to get his dad away from there but something stopped him. He couldn't move at all. No matter how hard he tried.

"DAD PLEASE! NOT AGAIN! DON'T STAY THERE, GET OUT!"

His dad slowly turned around. But he didn't look like he should. His skin was crusty and dark red. So dark it nearly got black. It was burned. It didn't look like his dad anymore. It was just a black crusty silhouette who got closer to Keith, reaching out it's hand. Keith got scared. It got closer and closer and Keith couldn't help but think that this was clearly not his dad. Its -what he assumed face- got closer and closer and Keith could feel the panic rise up, his heart beating faster, as the fire surrounded everything.

"..eith"

He looked at the silhouette in fear. Did it just say something?

"Keith"

The silhouette opened its mouth and sharp teeth came into his view. He trashed around trying to get away but something held him, so he hit around until he felt a slap on his cheek.

When he opened his eyes again his cheek hurt and Toby was in front of him.

"Are you awake now?"

Keith looked around, clearly confused until Toby spoke again.

"Do you know that you thrashed around wildly and even hit me?"

"Oh.. sorry.." Keith was still confused a bit. It felt so real and it truly scared him.

"Well anyway, it's like 2am and I'm very sleepy, so let's just try to sleep _quietly_ now." And with that Toby went back to bed. 

However Keith couldn't just simply go to sleep again. He had to think of this nightmare the whole time when he tried to close his eyes and one thought wandered around in his mind.

What if the thing really was his dad?

All crusty burned.

_Burned to death._

There was no way he could keep on sleeping now.

Eventually he found himself waking up from a hand shaking him and the brightness hit his eyes.

"It's breakfast time now" Toby said, already clothed in his casual clothes and ready to go. Slowly Keith stood up and his vision blurred shortly but came back just some seconds later. Probably because of the lack of sleep he had the past few days. When he was ready he went to the room everyone had breakfast in and stood in the queue. He didn't really feel hungry but his stomach was clearly in another opinion when it grumbled loudly while waiting. Before he knew it he got a toast and some cheese on it and went to find a seat in the loud room. After crowding past some other kids he found a table where Toby sat. Maybe he should just go to him... But he seemed to be in a talk with his friends? Keith didn't realize he stared a while until Toby's eyes met his. But he seemed to not want him there, because his gaze looked so cold. Keith couldn't help but search for another seat until he heard a familiar voice calling out to him.

"Hey Keith, you feel better now?"

His social worker was walking towards him, smile on her face.

"Yeah thanks" Well no he didn't, but what was the point in making her worry even more? It's not like she can help him to avoid that the creepy thing appears in his vision every time he closes his eyes.

"I'm glad to hear that. You know, yesterday when it was late already I got a call that someone wanted to meet you. He said you would know who it is when I told you he's a firefighter?"

Keith's eyes widened a bit. Why would the firefighter want to meat him?

**_Maybe they found the corpse_**

The creepy thing showed up in his mind again before he knew it but the woman in front of him brought him back to reality.

"He said he really needed to tell you something and it seemed important, so should I agree on an appointment with him?"

The young boy didn't quite know what to say, but he kind of had the feeling that he had to find out what this was about.

"...Okay"

"Good, then meet me at my office at 11:45 am, right?"

She smiled at him before she left, leaving him stand there with his plate. He looked around again and saw some free seats next to a red-haired boy who looked a few years older than Keith. Just before he wanted to take a seat there he heard Toby calling out his name and turned around to face him.

"Hey don't you want to sit at our table? There's still one free seat" Toby grinned at him.

Keith looked at the table where only one boy sat and looked back at Toby again.

"Uhm.. yeah sure.." Maybe Toby didn't look at him before, because he clearly wouldn't invite Keith to come at their table after looking at him so coldly or annoyed before.

Toby lead the way and when they got there Keith placed his plate on the table and sat down. There were two other boys sitting at the table who Keith never saw, but they also seemed to be older than him.

“So, these are my friends Louis and Erik. Louis, Erik, this is Keith my new roommate.” Toby introduced.

“Hey, nice to meet you” Louis said. Erik simply nodded as greeting.

“Nice to meet you too..” 

After this short introduce, they all kept on talking about something Keith couldn’t classify. But it didn’t really matter to Keith. He was in thought anyway. 

_Why would the firefighter want to talk to him?_

_Was it about his dad?_

_It has to be, right?_

**_Yeah about the corpse_**

_That’s not true!_

**_Right, there are probably only ashes left_**

Keith gulped harshly and nearly choked on his toast. The crusty thing appeared in his mind. It probably was true.. There wouldn’t be a corpse left after a fire like this. But to really know what the firefighter wanted from him, the only thing he could do was wait for the appointment. That in thought he ate up his toast, ignoring the sick feeling he had and waited for the time to pass.


	8. How it happened

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The firefighter tells Keith how the whole accident with his dad happened. But that doesn't make things easier for Keith.

After waiting for the time to pass, Keith finally went to meet his social worker and the firefighter.

"Hey, perfect timing! He also just came" his social worker said and pointed out her hand afterwards.

"Please come inside and sit down" she said.

While going inside of the room, he saw the firefighter without his helmet for the first time and stood there to stare at him. He had short light brown, nearly blonde hair which kind of looked like he just got out of bed. 

_**So this was the man who held you back from the fire** _

With that the flashback hit him again.

The burning house, the dark smoke coming from it, the firefighter holding him and stopping him from running into the hot raging flames. 

The firefighter keeping him from rescuing his dad.

Keith couldn't think about anything else until his social worker placed a hand on his shoulder.

_Just like the firefighter did, when the house broke into pieces and they stared at it until the fire was gone._

"I'm going to let you two talk alone, if you need me you can find me just three rooms farther." She said and brought Keith to realize that even though he relived this memory, he was still in the office together with the man who wanted to talk about something.

Even though he still thought about the burning building, he had to know what the firefighter wanted. 

"H..hey. I came to see if you turned out fine" The man in front of him said, looking like he didn't know how to start the conversation.

An awkward silence grew in the room, since Keith just simply stared at the man, waiting for him to keep on.

The brown-blonde haired man cleared his throat. "So.. It's quite.. lively here, isn't it?" He said to break the silence. But Keith wanted answers.

"Why.. Why did you say it was too late?" The young boy asked.

"Why didn't you send help?" Keith felt that he was close to let out some tears.

"Why didn't you.. save him?" He looked at the man in front of him, desperately for answers.

The taller man was quietly looking at Keith while most likely trying to find the right words before answering.

He looked to the side when he finally managed to say something. "He was always like this.. I didn't know him that well but it was always him who would motivate the team.. He was always convinced that we could save everyone." 

The taller man had a light smile on his face. "He would always be reckless and run straight into a burning building to save anyone. Without matter if it was animal or human, he wouldn't make any exception." 

The firefighter was clearly in thought now, reliving all of the adventuresome days they had together. 

"He was always so proud when he rescued someone. He was.. A hero. I think that's why he had to go back inside that house.. You know?" He looked directly at Keith now. That's what made Keith notice that the man in front of him also had large bags under his eyes and didn't look fine at all. 

"I heard it afterwards.. What happened that day. A colleague told me that he was with Kogane before it happened. An already rescued man thrashed around a lot, they all thought it was because of the shock or his injuries, but apparently when Kogane got there he heard him out. Well.. It was hard to hear but the word 'daughter' fell from his mouth. And that was all Kogane needed to hear before running inside the house again." 

It looked like the firefighter teared up. "They shouted after him, telling him not to run in there, to wait until back-up comes. But he didn't listen." 

Yeah.. That sounded just like his dad. He would never give up on anyone. 

"I heard they were busy with extinguishing the fire and holding back the crowd.. So back-up was late.. Well and some moments later they heard him . He shouted to get some people to a window to catch the girl. It was some moments after, that we got to know he's still inside." 

So that was when Keith realized his dad was inside that building.

He took a moment to take a deep breath before he kept on speaking. 

"The girl managed to get out, most likely through his instructions.. He saved her. Her father had to be very thankful when they got his daughter. Because the first thing he and his daughter did when he came out of hospital was visiting our office in search of Kogane." 

The man couldn't stop his tears now and Keith felt close to it as well. He felt like he was overflowing with tears in the inside. 

"After they looked around they saw his office table which was full of flowers and while the father seemed to get what happened, his daughter pointed out at a picture of you on Kogane's desk. And that's when I thought.. That you should know how it all happened. That's when I searched for you.." 

Keith's cheeks were wet already.. When did he start crying? But now he didn't know what to say. He knew his dad was someone who wouldn't ever give up on saving anyone. 

_**But they gave up on him**_

_**They let him run into the raging flames alone**_

Keith imagined how his dad would run back in, trying to avoid the flames until he was at a point where he couldn't go anywhere, where he couldn't save himself anymore. 

_**In the end he was all alone**_

His dad probably stood in the sea of flames all alone, hoping for his last chance, for the back-up, the rescue team, for anyone. But they never came. Until at some point he..

_**Burned alive**_

That's right. He burned. Alive. He lived while he burned. He felt everything and couldn't do anything against it. 

Keith was pale by now. He didn't hear the social worker coming back in again, nor how the firefighter said that he should rather go now. He didn't hear anything except a ringing in his ears. It got louder every second and the image of his father burning alive, screaming in pain while he had to endure the fire on his skin made Keith feel sick and he couldn't think about anything else.

That was until his social worker touched his shoulder again. "Keith are you fine?" 

He felt so sick. The touch only made it worse and before he knew it he rushed out to find the toilet. He felt like he would have to vomit every second now. 

The pale boy ran as fast as he could in that state but didn't look out where he ran until he bumped at a bigger boy what made both fall from the impact. 

"Hey! Watch out where you-!" 

Keith couldn't hold it. The impact brought it all out and he couldn't stop himself even though he tried so hard. 

"What the fuck?!" The boy next to him cursed while some others who were walking there looked at the scenery.

"Gross" 

Keith cought while tears were still rushing out. Painting he slowly realized the boy next to him got his shirt dirty with Keith's vomit. But instead of looking disgusted he looked pissed off. "The hell did you eat?" 

Keith's social worker came by. "Gosh.. Okay there's nothing to see, keep on going I will take care of this." She said to the few kids standing there and looking. 

Keith was still panting. "S.. Sorry" he said at the red-haired boy. Wasn't this the boy who was sitting alone at breakfast? 

"Okay Alexander, please help to get Keith to the nursery." The social worker said. 

"Sure. 'Cause I already have fucking puke over my shirt and you don't want that." He said, clearly annoyed. 

"Alexander, no cursing here. Help out and we'll forget that you cursed." With that she led the way. 

Alex mumbled something what sounded like another curse while he helped Keith to get up. Keith felt like he wasn't really there. He heard everything what was going on now but he couldn't get that image of his burning father out of his head. 

Like his mind is pointing out that he left his father die alone, painfully.


End file.
